Studies in Economic Statistics N° 131: Revisiones en cuentas nacionales trimestrales Chile 2006-2019
IMACEC
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The Monthly Economic Activity Index (Imacec) is an estimate that summarizes the activity of the different branches of the economy in a given month, at prices from the previous year; its inter-annual variation constitutes an approximation of GDP evolution. The calculation of the Monthly Economic Activity Index is based on multiple supply indicators, which are weighted by the share of economic activities in the previous year’s GDP.
The Monthly Economic Activity Index is published on the first business day of each month taking into account a lag of 31 days in relation to the month being measured. In addition to this, a breakdown is published which distinguishes mining from all other activities —mining and non-mining series—, as well as the series at factor cost. All series are presented in both original and seasonally adjusted figures.
Consistent with the established publication policy, the Monthly Economic Activity Index series are revised along with the quarterly and annual national accounts.
August 2024’s monthly index of economic activity, Imacec
According to preliminary information, last Augusts Imacec rose 2.3% compared with the same month a year before (Table 1). The seasonally adjusted series dropped 0.2% with respect to the previous month, and rose 2.8% in twelve months. August 2024 came with one less working day than August 2023.
The Imacec’s result was explained by growth in services and mining activity (Figure 1). The deseasonalized indexed owed its drop to the performance of services, other goods, and manufacturing, which was partly offset by mining growth (Figure 2).
The non-mining Imacec posted annual growth of 1.5%, and dropped 0.5% with respect to the previous month.
Imacec analysis by activity
1. Goods production
Goods production rose 2.8% in annual terms, driven by copper mining. Manufacturing activity also contributed positively to the result, where food production stood out, particularly in fishery. Other goods production dropped 1.6%.
In deseasonalized terms, goods production grew 0.2% with respect to the month before, explained by the 2.3% growth in mining, which was partly offset by falls in other goods and manufacturing, of 1.1% and 0.8%, respectively.
2. Trade
Trading activity poste dan increase of 3.0% annually, driven mainly by retail sales and, to a lesser extent, by wholesale activity. In retail, most important were establishments specializing in clothes and footwear, supermarkets, and pharmacies. In wholesale, household goods and fuels saw increases in sales.
The seasonally adjusted figures poste dan increase of 0.7% with respect to the previous month, influenced mainly by retail trade.
3. Services
Services grew 1.9% in annual terms, explained by personal services, followed by transportation.
In deseasonalized terms, the figures showed a drop of 0.6% from the previous month, driven mainly by entrepreneurial and educational services, the latter affected by weather-related suspension of school classes.